Raytheon MALD-J Completes CDR

(Orlando, Fla., February 18, 2010) -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Miniature Air Launched Decoy Jammer (MALD-J(tm)) variant completed a major milestone when it passed a U.S. Air Force critical design review (CDR).

MALD(tm) is a state-of-the-art, low-cost, decoy flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles (about 575 statute miles). The MALD-J adds radar-jamming capability to the basic MALD platform.


"The men and women of Raytheon have every right to be proud of achieving this milestone because passing a critical design review is no easy feat," said Ken Watson, the U.S. Air Force's MALD program manager. "The Air Force conducted a rigorous multi-disciplined technical evaluation of the MALD-J and determined MALD-J has reached a technical readiness level 7. MALD-J is preparing to enter the engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) phase of the program."

Passing the CDR comes on the heels of the completion of the first MALD-J free-flight test. During the December 2009 test, the MALD-J used new software against representative threats.

"The CDR builds on the success of the MALD program and Raytheon's track-record of excellence in program management," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems product line. "The baseline MALD is currently in production, and we look forward to starting MALD-J EMD soon to meet our 2012 required asset availability commitment to the warfighter."

Source : Raytheon Corporation (NYSE: RTN)